How to Steal an Election and Lose a Country

Last night the unofficial vote count shows that 64% of Egyptians voted for the new constitution. That sounds impressive until one digs a little deeper. That the politics of Mr. Morsy and The Muslim Brotherhood have gotten out of hand is attested by the fact his vice-president, Mahmoud Mekky brother of Morsy's prime minister, and the Governor of Egypt's Central Bank resigned during the voting processes second day. Perhaps these two men, among others, have realized they were not working for the President of ALL Egyptians but for a toady of Mr. Badie, Supreme Guide of The Muslim Brotherhood. Morsy appears to be an order taker, not giver.

The ever silent President Morsy should be publicly outraged at how this two stage election was run and all of the violations that were recorded including stuffed ballot boxes, intimidation of women voters, the passing out of pre-marked ballots to illiterate voters, "non partisan" judges telling people how to vote, accredited observers refused entry to polling stations, observers held in polling stations by Freedom and Justice Party members until released by the police, no ink available to mark fingers (this making possible multiple votes by one person), supervising judges who were not judges, illegal campaigning outside polling stations, and threats made by Salafi groups to those wanting to vote, one of their targets Mohamed El Baradi. The list above is only for the second round. Add to this the general disorganization of the polling stations, late starts, etc. The election was a farce and in no way met any international standards, except those of the former USSR and of the Mubarak regime.

President Morsy should be outraged. He would be had he any care for the people of Egypt and the goals of its revolution. It seems, however, he only cares to be the loyal lap dog of Mr. Badie and The Muslim Brotherhood. There was no reason for the rush to finish the constitution, unless The Brotherhood figured out that no court could declare constitutional a government body created by an unconstitutional body. Shame on the courts for not issuing a ruling on this in a matter of hours or days. The rights granted in the constitution in one article are removed in another. Egyptians will be as free as The Brotherhood says they are free.

The Brotherhood wants to unite the Arab and Muslim World. In this constitutional process they destroyed that dream. Had they allied with the liberals and stopped talking about being Muslims (and acted like them), they might have been able to create in Egypt a society that all other Arab nations would envy and want to join, an AU to match the EU. But they seem to have chosen the path of old fashioned tyrants, seeking personal power. Rather then aligning with the Liberals, they chose to go with the Salafi, the ultra-conservative branch of the Wahabbi imported from Saudi Arabia. The Muslim Brotherhood always worries about foreign fingers in Egyptian politics but is silent about money flows from Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Monarchs do not like democracy. The Brotherhood did not notice Salafi waving flags of Saudi Arabia rather than Egyptian flags at their demonstrations in favor of the new constitution.

Could President Morsy avoid being another dictator tossed on the trash heap of history? It would be difficult, but it could be done. He must first be willing to depart from under the thumb of Mr. Badie and The Muslim Brotherhood. He must also accept that Islam is not about subjugating women or stopping people from having sex or a drink. In Islam an individual's relationship with God is between that individual and God. There are no Islamic "priests." who hold the keys to Paradise or who are allowed to enforce dogma. I am more than a little surprised that no one has charged The Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafi with blasphemy. I fear Mr. Morsy will focus on the "social issues" while ignoring Egypt's very real social, economic, and political problems. That is the easy route.

For the first time I now really fear the second and bloody Egyptian revolution. Muslims who believe in the faith and who work to raise their families will be fighting those who have twisted Islam into the stuff an Islamaphobic dreams. The Brotherhood seems to believe the people of Egypt can once again be beaten into submission. They will be proved wrong. I would much rather that I be proved wrong as The Muslim Brotherhood stops in it quest for power and President Morsy becomes the President of ALL Egyptians. It will take the efforts of ALL Egyptians to build a better tomorrow for ALL Egyptians.